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2023’s Most Irish Cities in America

Staff Report

Friday, March 10th, 2023

Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, but which of the 200 biggest U.S. cities really know how to celebrate the Celtic spirit?

To mark Irish American Heritage Month, LawnStarter ranked 2023’s Most Irish Cities in America. 

We looked beyond green bloodlines — we also looked at access to Irish pubs, dance schools, and social groups among 10 total indicators of Irishness.

Find out which 10 cities have the most smiling Irish eyes (and which 10 got the pinch) below, followed by some highlights and lowlights. (See where your city ranks.)
 
 

Most Irish Cities

Rank

City

1

New York, NY

2

Chicago, IL

3

Boston, MA

4

Philadelphia, PA

5

San Francisco, CA

6

Pittsburgh, PA

7

Denver, CO

8

San Diego, CA

9

Seattle, WA

10

Omaha, NE
 

Least Irish Cities

Rank

City

1

Hialeah, FL

2

Laredo, TX

3

Brownsville, TX

4

Newark, NJ

5

Paterson, NJ

6

Jackson, MS

7

Miramar, FL

8

McAllen, TX

9

Birmingham, AL

10

Montgomery, AL
Highlights:
  • It’s Paddy Time in New York: The Big (Green) Apple is our Most Irish City this year, leaving our previous gold medalist, Boston, green with envy. 

    How did New York riverdance its way to the top spot? The city dominated three out of four categories and finished just behind Chicago in Cultural Enrichment — despite Irish Americans making up a tiny fraction, 4.4%, of the city’s total population.
  • An Unlikely Paddy Destination: While the biggest U.S. cities traditionally put on the largest and most popular St. Patrick’s Day parades, there’s one other city in the Heartland that can indulge the party animal in you.

    At No. 50 overall, Wichita, Kansas, is a pot of gold when it comes to St. Pat’s celebrations, ranking No. 9 in this metric. This might come as a surprise, but Kansas’ connection to Ireland stretches back centuries. Most immigrants to Kansas arrived from Ireland in 1870. And the Kansas Jayhawk? The men’s basketball team mascot traces its roots to Irish folklore.
  • Low in Green Blood, High in Green Spirit: The cities with the smallest Irish American populations unsurprisingly landed at the bottom of our ranking. They include cities like Hialeah, Florida, in last place and Laredo, Texas, just above it.

    However, the lack of Irish residents in these cities today doesn’t mean they aren’t welcome. You’ll find Irish pubs, for example, in Newark, New Jersey (No. 197), and Jackson, Mississippi (No. 195). In Miramar, Florida (No. 194), you have an excuse to don your greenest outfit — the city hosts St. Paddy’s celebrations.
Our full ranking is available here: https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/most-irish-cities-in-america/